The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Strategic decision · 2019–2022
Michelob ULTRA signed farmers' contracts to fix the organic supply gap
AB InBev guaranteed organic farmers a buyer and a 25% premium, converted 104,000 acres and grew Pure Gold 18%.
Michelob ULTRA (AB InBev)
The solution
In North America only about 1% of agriculture is organic. Farmers who want to switch face three years of lost production during the transition, and no guarantee that anyone will buy the organic crop at the end — so they stay put.
Michelob ULTRA and FCB created 'Contract for Change' for its organic beer, Pure Gold: a contract promising farmers a buyer in three years' time, with parent AB InBev also paying a 25% premium on the farmers' crops in the meantime. That removed both risks that block conversion.
The campaign treated the business fix as the communication: the contracts, the acres and the farmers were the proof points. It won the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix at Cannes in 2022, and the jury chairman called it 'game-changing'.
By the award, 104,000 acres of farmland had begun the switch, Pure Gold had grown 18%, and production was projected to expand 25% in 2023 to meet demand.
Why it worked
- The contract removed the two real blockers — transition-year income loss and end-of-transition buyer risk.
- A 25% premium made switching attractive even before the organic crop exists.
- The story was structurally true, so it survived scrutiny and won effectiveness awards.
- Supply-chain action created tangible metrics (acres, farms) that replaced vague sustainability claims.
What can be applied
If the honest product story is blocked by the supply chain, change the supply chain: a structural fix gives you a story competitors cannot copy and proof no ad can fake.
Aftermath
The 2022 Cannes jury awarded it the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix; Pure Gold brand growth reached 18% during the campaign, and AB InBev projected 25% production growth for 2023 on the strength of contracted organic supply.
Sources
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